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Electric field pulses can induce apoptosis.

F Hofmann1, H Ohnimus, C Scheller

  • 1Lehrstuhl für Biotechnologie, Biozentrum, D-97074 Würzburg, Germany.

The Journal of Membrane Biology
|May 26, 1999
PubMed
Summary

High-intensity electric field pulses induce apoptosis in human T-lymphoblasts and HL-60 cells. This programmed cell death, characterized by DNA fragmentation, was dependent on salt concentration and inhibited by a caspase inhibitor.

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Area of Science:

  • Cell biology
  • Biophysics
  • Molecular biology

Background:

  • Electric field pulses transiently increase cell membrane permeability via reversible electrical breakdown.
  • Apoptosis is a crucial process of programmed cell death with implications in various diseases.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the potential of supercritical electric field pulses to induce apoptosis in specific human cell lines.
  • To elucidate the role of extracellular electrolytes and caspases in electric field-induced apoptosis.

Main Methods:

  • Application of supercritical electric field pulses (4.5–8.1 kV/cm, 40 µs) to Jurkat T-lymphoblasts and HL-60 cell suspensions.
  • Analysis of apoptosis hallmarks, including DNA fragmentation and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage.
  • Assessment of the effect of extracellular salt concentration and caspase inhibition (zVAD) on apoptosis induction.

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Main Results:

  • Supercritical electric field pulses induced typical apoptotic features in both cell types.
  • Apoptosis induction was observed across various electrolytes but required a minimum salt concentration.
  • The caspase inhibitor zVAD effectively prevented the apoptotic DNA fragmentation.

Conclusions:

  • High-intensity electric field pulses are a potent inducer of apoptosis in Jurkat T-lymphoblasts and HL-60 cells.
  • The process is salt-dependent and mediated by caspase activation.
  • This finding opens avenues for novel therapeutic strategies involving electro-induced cell death.